Running - Maria Runs

My “old favourite” trainers, and trying to find a replacement

I’ve been through many trainers in my running career so far. When I started out with my run/walk sessions, I just wore my normal leisure trainers (most probably skechers), and then I swapped over to Nikes as Andy got me a Nike+ wrist watch (you put a little sensor in the sole of the shoe and it tracked your distance). It was a long time before I plucked up the courage to go to a shop (I don’t look like a runner, what am I doing in that sort of shop?) and have the gait analysis.

I started on some Mizunos, and I totally loved them, but after a year they were less springy. I went back to the shop and the salesperson said that as I had no problems with them, I should stick with them, but the same version was not available so I got the newer one. Alas, the newer ones just never felt right, I could not put my finger on it, so I took a chance and ordered some pretty looking shoes online. They were Asics Gel DS 19’s (and in fact I had to swap them as I originally ordered size 5.5 and needed a 6).

I still have them. I loved how comfy they were, and they saw me through many races including the Brighton marathon. After that they felt pretty flat so I went back to get gait analysis. I was between a pair of Brooks and a pair of Asics, but as I had loved these so much, I stuck with Asics, and the new pair (Gel Kayano 21’s) were fab, so when I got the parkrun monthly prize I got a second identical pair. Since then I have mainly bought shoes online in the sales, and I have pretty much stuck to Asics (including for trail shoes). My current favourites are Asics GT2000’s, but they are reaching the end of their life (464 miles according to Strava- my Kayanos got to 590 and then 470 before I replaced them), so it was perfect timing when Millet Sports offered to send me a pair of Asics. Even better, the newest version of my favourite ever ones, Gel DS 22’s were on the list.

They are so pretty! More importantly, they are so comfy. As with all trainers I wore them around the house for a bit, mainly to sort out how tightly to tie the laces (and also to admire the colours before they start getting muddy), but I don’t think running shoes should need breaking in. The first outing ended up being a 9.5 mile run out to Panshanger park and back. It was a fairly slow run as my back had been sore (my fault for doing my work on the sofa the day before instead of sitting at my desk), so I ended up stopping in the middle to stretch out my back and admire the view. There’s a bench on a hillside so I enjoyed the view for a bit before heading home.

The Millet Sports website lists that these shoes have:

– Flytefoam midsole
– Propulsion Trusstic
– Impact Guidance System
– External Clutch counter
– PU Duosole
– Wet grip rubber forefoot
– Rearfoot GEL cushioning
– Ortholite sockliner

But I have no idea what most of those things mean. All I know is that they feel supportive but also very light and springy. I do overpronate a bit (I tend to flick one leg out to the side) but I don’t like the feel of the really chunky trainers. These seem a good middle ground to me, and so far they are going well.

I think these may be my new favourites! I shall need to keep an eye for the Gel DS in the sales next time I need to add another pair into rotation.

Onto some general bits:

Alpacas:

On my way home from the long run I tried to take a photo of the alpaca (or llama) but it was hiding behind some bushes- how inconsiderate!

Trees:

Since we moved we have not liked this huge tree, (it towers over the house and you can see it from the front of the house). We had to apply for permission to have it cut down as there are tree preservation orders in our town, but we were granted permission provided we replace it with a different tree (apple, cherry, basically nice trees that blossom).

This week it was finally taken down- hooray! It makes a huge difference to the amount of light upstairs and also means we have a much bigger garden now.

Funny Facebook stuff from April:

This was actually for the Easter weekend, and it made me laugh a lot. We didn’t quite have that for this past weekend, but I love the idea of it still.

Cake and National Trust visits:

I made a carrot cake (in fact, two, one to take to work) as it was my birthday this week. It’s fab having my birthday around the time of the May Bank holiday as it means I get a long weekend to celebrate- after going to Winchester and Southampton we visited a few National Trust places in Surrey on the Sunday, before coming home.

Polesdon Lacey National Trust house and gardens (complete with fluffy llama toys to spot in each room in commemoration of a trip that the owner made to South America).

Claremont gardens- loads of goslings about.

The ultimate marzipan combination!

On Monday after my long run, we walked into town for breakfast, and later Andy’s parents popped over for tea and cake, ending a long weekend in a very relaxing way.

Car annoyance:

I had not driven my car all weekend, and as I went to go to work on Tuesday morning, I had a completely flat tyre. What bad luck! Any other time I would have spotted it over the weekend.

The AA person changed it and found a screw in it (I’d already had the same tyre patched fairly recently, but it wasn’t in the same place)- luckily Kwik Fit had the right size tyres in stock but I was late for work which was a very stressful start!

I was running a meeting after work, but after that was finished I popped over to see my mum for a bit before coming home (and then, my mum had given me some eggs in a bowl, so after driving home carefully with the bowl on my passenger seat, when I was putting them away I dropped one and somehow it fell under the fridge and then smashed. As I was crouching down trying to see it, my hair got caught on the lace hooks of Andy’s walking shoes- it wasn’t my day!)- anyway, Andy had ordered this canvas for my birthday- photos from our trip to South Africa last year. I loved seeing the penguins so much, and of course the safari was amazing, so to have a reminder up on the wall is just fantastic.

Do you go for gait analysis or do you buy online? What did you get up to over the long weekend? Do you print many holiday photos? My dad always makes lovely photo books now, and they are lovely to look through. We have a couple and I think we should make some more but they do take a while to make.

*I was provided the shoes for free in exchange for a mention on my blog. All opinions are my own.

Winchester parkrun

On Friday night, after having dinner at home, we drove down to Winchester (this took longer because it was hard to find out online if the M3 was closed- it was)- we’d booked a Premier Inn in the sale a while back- handily it was about 0.8 miles to the start of the parkrun, so that was my plan for the morning.

After Harrogate-gate (can you have a double gate?) I had checked and re-checked the map several times. The start was easier to find, as it was by a leisure centre, which in turn was close to the town centre.

I got there in plenty of time- I came across a couple of people setting out the markers, and then I had to walk through the car park (I saw lots of runners heading that way) to the actual start in the middle of a cricket field.

I loved their sign too- I have seen these at a few places (we just have a sign on a clipboard, although lots of people notice it).

I had time to wander around and look at the long finish funnel- the cones they use remind me of PE lessons at school, and Sports Day. I also chatted briefly to a first-timer who had decided to join up, and the tail runner who was reassuring all the new runners that they wouldn’t be left behind.

It was fairly chilly first thing (you could see your breath) but I took my long sleeved top off as I knew I would heat up as I started to run, and I wanted something warm to put on after. Andy was going to meet me in town so I messaged him and asked him to bring my raincoat as I thought I might want another layer.

The first timer briefing was great- the guy tried to explain the course (I had thought it was three laps, but it was more like two and a little bit repeated, although I read later on that it was a trial so maybe they were changing it a bit)- it sounded so complicated though as there are four fields that we would run around, doing hairpin bends to join the adjacent field, as well as running along by the river for a bit. Basically, the rule is “follow the person in front” as per usual.

At the start we were reminded to watch out for the “cricket things” (I have no idea what they are called either)- they had marshal standing by them as they are these huge white board things with legs sticking out on either side- you would not want to run into one of those.

I really enjoyed it. Even though it was busy (they broke their attendance record with 373 runners) apart from the first few metres it didn’t feel busy. The course was super flat, going around the edges of grassy fields- at a few points you had to watch your footing as there were roots growing out of the ground, and then you had a little bit on tarmac by the river.

There were some brilliant marshals, including one lady with pom-poms! I shall be stealing that idea and borrowing some from work for next time I am a marshal- it takes it to the next level.

Both feet off the ground!

They had a photographer out on course (all put on flicker) – he was at a few different places so managed to capture people at the start, at the mid way point and going for the finish.

I felt like I had gone fairly fast- I was overtaking people most of the way, but as I had started my watch at the hotel I wasn’t sure of the speed. I had to stop just short of the finish line as the queue was backing out onto the course.

It was still like that after I had scanned my token in- there were marshals and the RD trying to get people to move on, and they have posted on their facebook page that they are going to make the funnel longer for next week- they clearly weren’t expecting such a huge amount of people. I saw lots of people in the Southampton 10k and half t-shirts- I am sure there was a marathon too but I didn’t see any of those. Anyway, someone else commented that maybe it was the “marathon effect”- eg people see London on TV and decide to sign up to parkrun. It’s all good, whatever the reasons.

One marshal saw my orange top and asked me how I had found it. I really liked it. I think as it wasn’t straight laps- they were complicated- it added more interest. I also didn’t get lapped- I thought I would, but I think because you did 2 big laps and then one smaller one (or something) it meant I was past the finish line before the speedy ones came in.

It felt very Southern-English, with the cricket stuff going on, and a sort of village green feel. It was nice and flat, but varied scenery added to the interest.

Time for a quick photo before heading into town.

That was my 18th UK parkrun, and I managed to finish in 27.14- pretty quick for me.

Then, not my finest hour. I had messaged Andy and he was already in the Starbucks waiting to get breakfast. I looked at my phone, saw where the town was (I had passed the turning on my way to the park) and headed that way. It was all going fine, but I got to the main high street and could not see Starbucks. I could see a Pret, a Nerro, even a Costa, and I had started mumbling to myself about why wasn’t he in Pret. I got up maps on my phone, and tried to follow the dot, but whichever way I went I seemed to be getting further away. I messaged Andy to say I was lost, and then noticed that on the map the Starbucks was opposite Whittards- I had been stood outside Whittards as I messaged him. So I walked back down, and yes, Starbucks was pretty much right where I was when I messaged to say I was lost. Ooops. parkrun tourism is making me work harder at using maps, but I am still not great!

We had a little wander around Winchester- it seemed a really nice place- nice and small but with some good little shops.

Then it was a quick walk back to the hotel for me to shower as we were then off to Southampton.

What are those cricket things called? Did you do any racing this weekend or last? Do you know people taking up running or joining up to parkruns?

Running without my Garmin (sort of)

This week I have eased back into my routine- I did a club run on Tuesday- we had a lovely run down to Stanborough lakes and back. It’s so good being lighter later as we can go off road more.

Yoga wasn’t on, and I had a course on Wednesday which meant a later start (9.30!)- I walked into town first thing to get a few bits, and after staring at a screen all day (how do people with office jobs manage?) we had a walk in the evening as my eyes just felt so weird.

On Thursday I decided to do some hill reps- there is a short but fairly steep hill along the old railway line- so I ran the mile there, then spent time running up and down the same section. The sky was blue when I left but turned black and then rained- I ran my fastest Strava segment on the way home as the rain wasn’t heavy but it looked like it could bucket it down any minute!

I mean, it doesn’t look at all steep here, but it is.

On Saturday some of our new runners were “graduating” at parkrun. I had offered to do the new runners briefing, and there ended up being loads of first timers, plus a few tourists (including one I chatted to who was from Brighton Hove Prom- it’s not often you know of a course that someone else has run as there are so many out there now).

Image may contain: people standing, sky, outdoor and nature

No idea why but I had decided to start my Garmin in the car park- I think I was thinking that if I was doing the briefing at 8.55 it wouldn’t leave much time for it to find the satellite, and I didn’t want it to be beeping through the briefing. It was fairly cold but I knew I would warm up so left my jumper in my bag hanging on the fence by the finish area.

Anyway, after finding out where the tourists were from (Blackhill- they would enjoy our flat course/ Panshanger- very local but still good to try a new one), welcoming the new runners and explaining the course, I headed to the start and chatted to a few of our club runners. I’ve had a sore shoulder this week and when it has been bad, breathing hard has hurt as the pain is sort of in the back, so I wasn’t really expecting anything speedy.

I’d seen one of our club runners (Milena) a bit ahead of me, and we can usually run a similar speed, so I decided to try and catch up with her. She was on a total mission- arms pumping and long legs striding out and going for it, so it took me until the 3km point to catch her. A few of our club were marshals – one who had run Brighton a few weeks ago, and two running London on Sunday, so I’d called out to them on my way past (either have you recovered/ good luck tomorrow).

I’d noticed that as we had started it was exactly 9am on my watch, and as I was going down the runway towards the end the time was 9.24, so I did wonder if I was going fairly fast. I was also completely surrounded by men (apart from Milena who was just behind me at that point). But then I worked out that I had just gone past the 4km point, so that was around 6 min per km, which would equal a 30 min 5k, which to be honest felt wrong as I felt I was going faster. But I know I can’t trust my maths when I run anyway! I didn’t bother looking at my Garmin, even though with hindsight it shows the current average so I think it would have shown how fast I was going.

I was pushing hard for the final half km, and still managed to overtake a couple of people. With the finish line in sight (maybe 20 metres to go) I decided to go for it and went past another guy. I was place 51 but that is hard to work out if it’s good or bad- it seems high up the field (and it was still mainly men finishing) but who knows. (It turns out I was 6th lady which must be one of my highest placings, and 2nd in my age cat- all those speedy runners are probably running London and so having a rest today!).

I saw a few of the runners from the briefing at the end- the guy had come from Blackhill it turns out was down because he was running the London marathon on the Sunday. I think with regards to the course we are lucky- I’ve been to quite a few now and lots of them, while being perfectly nice, as still really city centre parks closely surrounded by roads and buildings. Both Ellenbrook and Panshanger are wilder and more like countryside running- really pretty scenery.

Back to my time- My Strava gave me a clue- the first mile was 10.40 but that included walking and doing the briefing, the others were 8.46, 8.34 and then 8.30 for the final 0.4. Strava also thought I did one mile in 8.15 which sounds ridiculously fast.

Anyway, after going to the post office, having a shower and having a breakfast of hot cross buns and tea, I got my text through- a new course pb! 26.33! It’s a good 30 seconds quicker than my previous Ellenbrook pb, and only 4 seconds behind my all time pb set at St Albans back in 2013 (26.29). This time of year must be good for my running- nice and cool, solid ground (no mud). I was so pleased!

I have recently realised I can sort my results by time, so I could see I have now managed three beginning with 26, but the other two were both at St Albans in 2013. I’d been inching closer to a sub 27 minute 5k for a bit, but this totally smashed it!

In effect running without my Garmin was interesting because I think sometimes I can see a fast number and then worry that I can’t keep it up, whereas this one was honestly run on feel- I should trust myself. Or maybe it was luck as it has only happened once!

We had a lovely walk around Panshanger later on, admiring the bluebells. I just need two Saturdays in a week so I can parkrun at both places.

Image may contain: plant, tree, sky, flower, outdoor and nature

Later in the afternoon I had some work to catch up on, and also went through my blog emails- I found out that I had been chosen as one of the Vuelio top ten running blogs here– how lovely. A few blogs that I enjoy are also on the list (A Healthier Moo, The PhD Runner) and there are a few that I haven’t read but I always like to find new blogs to read so I’ll be checking the other ones out.

On Sunday I had an 8 mile out and back run and then watched a bit of the London marathon- I happened to be watching it as they were following a guy who was massively struggling to get to the finish- his legs had totally seized up and I really felt like the camera should cut away as he didn’t look good. Amazingly another runner wearing a Swansea Harriers vest stopped to help him (they were under the 3 hour finish time and so were all rocketing past him)- it was pretty emotional to watch. At first you could see the runner talking to him, pointing to the finish line and clearly telling him that he could do it. A marshal then came out and they draped his arms over their backs and helped him for the last few hundred metres- it just encapsulates how fantastic the running community is- I don’t think I would notice anyone in the last bit of a marathon, being so focused on just keeping the legs going and getting to the end, so the fact that this guy not only noticed him but stopped when he was so close himself to help someone else out was just fantastic. (BBC story here)

Which running blogs do you like to read? I much prefer blogs that are more in a personal diary form- ones with magazine style articles don’t tend to interest me as much.

What is your favourite volunteer role and which one have you benefited most from doing? I was so nervous before I did the first new runners briefing that my knees were actually shaking- I really hate public speaking. But doing a few of them has really helped (and I think going to other parkruns helps as you listen to the same briefing and realise that people just want to know about the course, no-one is being critical)- and probably this has helped my confidence when I have to do that sort of speaking at work too. I still don’t relish public speaking, but I don’t worry about the briefings any more which must be a good thing.

Did you watch any of the London marathon? (Or watch the Southampton/any other) Or were you running a marathon? I did think that the guy who finished third in the men’s race looked pretty trashed by the end, whereas often they run so smoothly it looks fairly effortless. I had to rewind as by the time I had started watching the women’s race had finished- some impressive times recorded, and some great performances by Aly Dixon and Charlotte Purdue, although it was a shame that Jo Pavey didn’t finish. I still don’t think I would like to run London personally- the huge crowds really put me off, but it is an inspiring event to see on the TV.

Harrogate parkrun- lessons in how to get lost

Last week we were heading up north for a holiday, and as luck would have it staying in Harrogate on Friday night. Of course this means one thing- a new parkrun to add to my list!

I’d looked at the course on the map and seen it was not far from our hotel (less than a mile) and it seemed fairly straightforward. I left the hotel at around 8.15am, as I like to get to a new one early so I am not panicked about anything, and started walking instead of running so I could look at the directions on my phone more easily. Well, after about 10 minutes of walking I was helpfully told I had reached my destination. I most certainly hadn’t! I opened up maps and realised that I had put in directions to “The Stray”- where the parkrun started. But then in fact in Harrogate there are lots of parks with the same name, and the one I needed was in a different part of the town. Yes, I then started to panic a bit.

I was taken to the Stray which is the small triangle park on the bottom left of this photo. I didn’t realise that the parks joined up. I went to their parkrun course page, and noted that there was a bar or something called The Empress, that was on the roundabout near the start to parkrun, so I selected that and began running through the town centre. I was actually now further away than my hotel, having wandered in the wrong direction- argh! I started my watch just after this as I didn’t want to be fiddling with it if I was late, so I got part of my run recorded.

As I was crossing a road I noticed two guys in running gear (and one of them I had seen in the hotel lobby as I left)- I asked them if they were heading to parkrun and they said yes, and showed me a print out of a map- they were tourists from Preston. They were not sure whereabouts they were on their map, so we looked at my phone. The combination of my phone and their map eventually led us to parkrun (although they were walking and not running, and in no hurry, and I didn’t want to be rude and run ahead from them as they had helped me and I was sort of helping them with my phone)- as we neared we could see the comforting sights of many high viz clothes and people all heading to the middle of the park- phew. Although we arrived at 8.55am, and I just about heard the tail end of the new runners briefing- “three laps” were the magic words to remember.

We were all led to the start area, but everyone stood about in a big circle and I ended up facing the back of the RD- I also couldn’t hear because people were chatting, but you know to clap each time (volunteers, local things, milestones…), you know to give way to other parkrunners, to say thanks etc. They did point out pacers but I couldn’t see where they were.

Then we were moved again to the actual start- we would be running back the way we had just walked so it was a bit hard to position yourself- I wasn’t fussed about a time but I did start a bit far back in the end I think.

The parkrun was run around the outside of the park along this sort of path.

It was such a gorgeous day. The run was very flat- three laps of a park, surrounded by roads. The actual path was narrow, but usually you could just run on the grass to overtake- at a few points the path was a little higher so this was harder to do, but for the most part even though it was super busy (507 parkrunners and a new record for them) it didn’t ever feel that busy. At the end of the first lap I caught up with the 32 minute pacer- I was feeling very stressed about getting lost so I think that messed up my rhythm a bit. I was overtaking people pretty much the whole way, catching up with the absolutely brilliant 30 minute pacer at the end of the second lap (and I was also being lapped for pretty much the entire second lap, but this was fine and everyone was very polite when passing). He was so good- I don’t know when he even took a breath as he was chatting and encouraging the whole time, and even yelling things up ahead to people who he had been running with.

I managed to overtake more people in my third lap (this helps me to speed up I think- pick a person up ahead and try to reel them in)- my Strava shows that my miles went 10.10, 9.11, 8.46 and 8.01 so a royal flush negative split by some margin! They clearly hadn’t expected this many people and when I reached the finish I had to stop just before the line as the queue to get a chip was so long- they were asking people to move over and snake sideways a bit. I was given token 351 (I tried to take a very blurry photo) but they did have a little trouble with the results (I think they dropped some tokens, and initially instead of moving people up 11 places they deleted 11 results)- in the end I was given place 340 with a time of 28.55. I am not too bothered- I think maybe my time was a little quicker but as I had left my watch running it is hard to tell, and people commenting on facebook (they asked people to let them know position and time if they recorded it) were saying that the second set of results was correct. The placing was correct as it matches with the 11 tokens missing.

Anyway, a fast course and not too much congestion at the start. I was enjoying the sunny weather when I had finished.

Then I started to run back to the hotel- I had stopped my watch and it had turned off so I left it, but I wish I had left it on as I am pretty sure I literally ran in circles for a bit of my journey back- the last bit of the way there was along some alleyways, so I headed to those, but once I got to the town centre I was so disoriented. I ran down a hill, around a corner, up a hill- I looked at a map on my phone, put in the Premier Inn address and for some reason I was not on the map (like Joey, I need to step into the map)- usually google maps shows you where you are, but whether it was getting confused with all the buildings I don’t know, but it kept showing a circle of streets around the outside of me, where my directions would then begin. I had plans of getting Andy a coffee (and myself a cold drink) on the way back to the hotel, as I typically do that, but I didn’t even pass a coffee shop (although I must have passed a Nero as we walked past it later )- I didn’t get back to the hotel until about 10.10 and according to my watch had run over 6 miles that morning. I found my way back in the end (and then realised that if I had looked up I could see the huge Majestic Hotel building that was next to the Premier Inn pretty much as soon as I came out of the alleyways- argh).

I had a quick shower and then we headed for breakfast- we’d normally share a cinnamon roll but after all of that I was having one to myself!

We then had a lovely walk around Harrogate, past the huge queue for Betty’s tearooms, down to a botanical garden, before driving to Fountain’s Abbey.

We’d signed up to the National Trust and I had also seen about this via parkrun as they have one there (but it’s a good 10 miles outside of Harrogate so I wouldn’t have gone there on my own).

It was stunning. We’d bought some salads in town so sat and had a picnic for a bit before walking around the grounds- my steps total was 35,000 for the day so we did walk a lot. There was a cafe at the far end and we could not resist sharing a slice of carrot cake and sitting in the sunshine enjoying the tea.

After walking back to the car our next stop was Durham, but I will save that for another post. (Although I will add that on Saturday morning I noticed on the parkrun UK page they were asking people where they were running and someone said “the pink panther parkrun- Dur-ham, Dur-ham” which made me laugh, and also for a second I thought “me too” before I realised that I was in Harrogate but going to Durham later).

So, another successful parkrun tourism. My 17th UK event (3 more to go…), and my 101st parkrun in total. Lesson learned- I will check and double check directions and look at the road names or crossings and not just a generic park name! A well organised event, friendly marshals and a very flat course too.

Are you good with directions? I am not 100% sure of my left and right (I have a patch of freckles on the back of my right hand which I check for when I am not sure) so this doesn’t help things either!

What do you like to do on a sunny afternoon? Having a walk and then sitting in the sunshine for tea and cake is pretty ideal in my opinion.

Lee Valley half marathon 2017- running with my dad

As I have mentioned before, I had signed up to run the Lee Valley half marathon on Sunday. The main reason was that my dad decided he wanted to run a half marathon. I had suggested a lot of different ones to him, and in the end this one ticked the boxes- local so we could go there on the morning, late enough in spring so that he would have time after his holiday to train, an interesting sounding route, and he would be allowed to raise money for a charity of his choice. He had run a half marathon before when he was younger (the Berkhamsted half for anyone local, although back then it was two laps so the awful mile long steep hill was repeated) but had really struggled and not enjoyed it at all.

He has been keeping me updated on his training (and our family via his Just Giving Page- raising money for MNDA as his cousin has recently been diagnosed)- he’s been sensible as he has a slight ligament issue (he had around a year when he couldn’t even run a parkrun as his knee had to heal, he had to give up tennis because of the twisting and turning, and now he runs with a knee brace the whole time) and also he does a lot of cycling so was making sure to have rest days and not run long the day after a long bike ride. He’d managed an 18k run a week and a half ago, a bit later than he had planned because he’d had a virus, and although he’d completed it he had to walk sections of the final few km. I felt like that was plenty but he was a bit apprehensive on the morning of the race.

I had toast for breakfast, and even put on suncream as it was already very sunny. Dad picked me up just after 8am and drove to the water park. Lee Valley is where the water sports were held in the Olympics, and now it is used as a sports venue for white water rafting and kayaking. There are also miles of pathways by rivers and canals, lots of bird spotting hides and picnic areas. We had to park on a field but as it was so dry this wasn’t an issue. It was a short walk to the main building- the reception was downstairs and there were clear signs directing you upstairs to the cafe and sun terrace, where you could collect your number.

It was a gorgeous morning for a race – sunny but quite chilly first thing. We had to collect our numbers in the morning and that was very easy with about a 5 minute queue, and then we waited outside on the terrace looking out across the fields and waterways. We decided to visit the toilets (as it was a building they had real ones and not port-a-loos which means I will actually use them) before finally going to the bag drop so we could keep our jumpers on for as long as possible. The bag drop was right next to the registration desk, so it was all very handy. We bumped into a few girls from the club- lots doing the 10K and a few doing the half. The 10K started at 9.45, so they all headed off to the start. There was a little confusion as the 10k start was in a slightly different place to the half, added to that the inflatable finish arch having the word “Start” emblazoned across it. But they have said they were aware of this so would sort that out next year (this was it’s first year).

The half began at 10am, and we started off fairly near the back. A while ago we were thinking of around 2.10, but after Dad was ill and then had a bit of a struggle at the end of his longest run, we took all time off the table and just said we would run steadily- he didn’t want to need to walk any of it. We enjoy running parkrun together, and this was just extended really. We kept at a pace where we could chat the whole time, and just enjoyed the scenery. The Lee Valley park was lovely and well worth a visit- I was so impressed that instead of being left to rot, something good for the community and nature has come of it. We ran along canal towpaths, by the side of rivers, past a huge weir, past wetlands and through little wooded areas. We saw plenty of people out walking and cycling and at one point there was even a sort of dog training park with A-frames and hoops and things for the dogs to jump over and through.

The course was two laps, although they weren’t identical as you didn’t run through the finish area in the first lap- there was a bit of an out-and-back before you joined the loop, which you then repeated in reverse at the end of the second loop to get back. It was clearly signposted and there were mile markers (and km markers for the 10K)- it is never good seeing the 8 mile marker when you are only a few miles in, but as it was so flat and so pretty it didn’t ever feel too long. There were lots of marshals out on the course, and arrows all over the place too. We stopped at three water stations for a sip of water (around mile 4, 8 and 11) as it was fairly warm and at the final one ended up chatting to a girl who was struggling- she told us many of her injuries and illnesses that had happened during her training, but at least by this point there were only a few miles to go so we could encourage her with that thought.

I just felt so happy during the run- the sun was shining, the breeze was keeping me fairly cool, I was chatting with Dad and thanking all the marshals. One of them commented (in a jokey way) that we weren’t running hard enough as we were still talking, and at the end Dad asked if the time was OK for me. It’s hard to explain, but (despite my moan about Brighton half last week) I don’t run for time. I could have run faster, but then I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, and sometimes it is just good to properly enjoy the race. At 10 miles I said “just a parkrun to go” which Dad found very amusing. When we got to 11 miles Dad mentioned it was uncharted territory for him as this was beyond the 18k he had managed in training, but he was still feeling fine (a bit achey) and we didn’t need to walk.

As we neared the finish line we saw a group of OH ladies (who had run the 10K) and gave them a big shout.

One of them took a few photos of us as we were running and they are just great as they totally sum up the race- we just enjoyed the whole thing.

The finish area was right by where people were canoeing, so it was brilliant to see everyone using the rapids and flipping upside-down. They had a cool conveyor belt thing that people sat on in their canoes, and it carried them to the top of course so they could then canoe downhill through the rapids, and then repeat.

At the finish area we had a drink (I’d packed nuun tabs in my pocket) and they gave us a banana so we stretched and watched other people finish for a bit. Of course we had to attempt a sweaty selfie- it is not easy to take a photo as neither of us are good at keeping our eyes open when there is a camera about!

We then walked back to the cafe area (bumping into two of the club half marathon runners- one had managed a pb despite it being a training run for the London marathon!), picked up our bag, and then we decided to have a drink in the cafe. The car park didn’t close until 2pm and we didn’t end up leaving until around 1pm (we did some more stretches on the grass by the car before heading home).

The medal is lovely too (although I do sort of wish it wasn’t the same as the 10K one…). It was their first event and I hope they do it again next year as it was well organised and such a pretty route. One I would look at doing again for sure.

Our finish times were 2:17:42 (and 4), but that wasn’t why we did it. Dad was totally chuffed as it was a pb for him, but he was over the moon to finish feeling strong and not struggling, not needing to walk at all, and of course raising money for MNDA (£600 at last count).

What do you most enjoy about races? How was your weekend?